Shank

Shank succeeds at what it sets out to do, giving you funny action, foolish humor and great visuals.

Despite my gripes, Shank is a badass game. It could've done with a little more content (maybe a boss rush mode?), but it's a hack-and-slash murderfest that can easily stand toe-to-toe with the likes of Castle Crashers and Scott Pilgrim.

The fundamental level design issues later in the game, combined with the eventual tedium of the combat it relies on, makes Shank a good game for a particular audience rather than a great game worthy of everyone's attention.

It's fast, merciless and brutal, but it's not a lot of fun to play. Unless you're out of other options for 2-D brawlers and have money burning a hole in your pocket, hold off on Shank. It's still a decent title, but for 2 GB and $15, there are better ways to spend your hard drive space, money and time.

Shank's main problem is that all the game's positives (and there are quite a few) are either undone or over-shadowed by the lasting impression that it's too short and just too tedious.

As a platform-hopping back street brawler, Shank succeeds in carving its very own niche, earning a place on the hard drive of anyone looking for a brutal treat with which to stave off the remainder of the gaming drought.

The best 1200 Microsoft Points you can invest right now. Shank plays on the same league as Limbo, Trials HD or Braid: it's short and simple, but fun and refreshing.

Shank ends up being a pretty decent game, but it didn't excite me in the end as much as I hoped it would.

It's a shame that under this awesome dress, Shank can't stand up with a equally good gameplay. Repetitive, short and expensive, this is a game that could have been much better with some more game design skills.

With no online play, replay value is a reverse skyrocket, burrowing deep into the Earth's crust.

Striking visuals aren't enough to save this shallow brawler from being monotonous and frustrating.

Shank is too short and easy for a 1200 points Arcade. It sports very nice graphics and an immediate gameplay, but after a couple of levels it rapidly wears out becoming quite boring even with its offline co-op.

Shank is a classic 2D beat'em up. The style is great, but level design and AI aren't perfect. Probabily, you can try Dishwasher instead.

Shank does sport a co-op mode in addition to its single player portion, but it doesn't add much to the game. The levels form a prequel to the storyline of the main game, but the prequel is a rather short story indeed and can only be played on the same console – there's no Xbox Live support should you be short a friend to share your couch with.

While Shank can be fun, it is also repetitive, inconsistent, and over far too quickly.

There are some incredible peaks in Shank that I think are entirely worth experiencing, and it can be a pleasure to play, at least for a while. There are far worse ways to spend $15 for three hours, but it's those very highs that really make Shank's shortcomings that much more disappointing.

Mindless entertainment is all well and good but, at its worst, Shank's gameplay is as ugly as the underworld of thugs, drunks and violence that make up the game's universe.

If you can overlook the control issues and often totally uneven difficulty (the second boss should under no circumstances be way easier than the first, in any game, ever), and turn a blind eye to the asinine plot and characters, Shank does have its moments.

Shank could have become an instant classic but its flaws make it simply one among others that stands out just for visual interest.

Like the movies that doubtless inspired it, Shank ultimately has more style than substance. It looks fantastic but it's hardly a lengthy game, and it does little to trouble your brain. As throwaway entertainment goes, though, it's solid popcorn stuff.

Sadly, Shank is a nice but short action game. The combat system is well studied but doesn't have the right balance, and the entire experience ends in three hours only. The offline only multiplayer game is also a crazy choice.

Shank is an old school side scrolling beat 'em up with a new lick of paint. The main character seems to have stepped out of a comic book. Shank has enough style, but unfortunately comes up short with substance. The game is short and doesn't offer any replayability next to the hard modus.

It looks the part, but this 18-rated Final Fight suffers from a repellent script and the usual descent into monotonous, skill-less button-bashing.

It's three hours you won't want back. [Oct 2010, p.106]